You probably have already heard the statistics being thrown out there.

There are currently 607,708 open computing jobs nationwide, but only 43,000 computer science graduates.

By 2020, there will be over 1,400,000 jobs in computer science but only 400,000 CS graduates to fill them.

90% parents want their kids to learn to code. Yet still, most kids are not learning to code and most parents are not doing anything about it.

I believe one of the large reasons for this problem is that most parents believe that “learning to code” is synonymous with becoming a software engineer.

Some families are motivated by this idea, but most don’t see it as essential need for their kids to to become software engineers. I completely agree.

Learning to code doesn't mean becoming a software engineer.

I believe that this idea of becoming a “cool” software engineer is more harming to computer science education than it is helpful. It evokes an extremely intimidating and unwelcoming challenge to what should be learning a fun, new skill.

Let's think about this concept in another context. If I told you that schools were not teaching math because they didn’t see most of their students becoming mathematicians, would you support this?

Of course not. Math is a part of the core curriculum not because we want everyone to become mathematicians, but because we believe that math is a core skill for students to understand to be able to succeed in today’s world.

Similarly, coding is not a skill students should learn because we want them all to become software engineers, it’s a skill students need to learn because, as Steve Jobs famously put it, “I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.”

Learning to code teaches you how to turn your thoughts into a logical sequence of commands, translating ambiguity into a series of steps that your computer understands, constantly applying your knowledge to actually building something.

It’s also extremely fun and engaging. Whether you’re creating a game or story in Scratch, or creating your very first website in Javascript, you can express your knowledge in an interactive and educational way.

While becoming a software engineer may sound like an intimidating challenge, learning to code should not be.

If your school doesn’t offer coding classes, it doesn’t mean your daughter or son shouldn’t learn to code. It means you need to help your child learn to code outside of school or start advocating for your school to provide these resources.

Learning to code is not just a trendy topic. it is a an essential way to learn how to think in 21st century.